Question

a university surveys a random sample of 200 students. each student is asked to select all the devices they regularly use to access their course materials. the survey results are summarized in the table below. from this information, which one of the following statements is correct?

device used	number of students selecting device
smartphone	120
laptop	40
desktop computer	30
other	10

because students could select multiple devices when completing the survey, a bar graph, as opposed to a pie chart, would be a more appropriate way to display the data.
the best way to represent this data would be to use a histogram since the device types are discrete categories.
because the devices can be ordered by how much they are used, the only valid way to display this data is with a line graph.
we should refer to \device used\ as being a quantitative variable because there is a number associated with each type of device.
to graph this data, a pie chart would be most appropriate since 100% of the students in the sample had the option to choose each of the different types of devices.

Explanation:

Step1: Understand data - type

The data is about the number of students using different devices. Students can select multiple devices, so the sum of the number of students for each device type will be greater than the total number of students surveyed.

Step2: Analyze graph - types

A pie - chart is used when the parts make up a whole and the sum of all parts is 100% of the whole. Here, since students can select multiple devices, the sum of the frequencies of device - types is not related to a single whole in the way a pie - chart requires. A bar graph is more suitable as it can show the frequency of each device type independently. A histogram is for grouped continuous data, not for categorical data like device types. A line graph is for showing trends over time or ordered numerical data, not for categorical data like device types. "Device used" is a categorical variable, not a quantitative variable.

Answer:

Because students could select multiple devices when completing the survey, a bar graph, as opposed to a pie chart, would be a more appropriate way to display the data.